Best Time to Snorkel With Turtles in Barbados: Weather, Sea & Nesting

What each part of the year is like for turtle snorkeling

A turtle trip in Barbados is a boat ride along the sheltered west or south coast, a stop where green turtles and young hawksbills come in to feed, and usually a snorkel over the shallow wrecks of Carlisle Bay. The short Carlisle Bay boats take about 90 minutes; the catamaran cruises take four to five hours with lunch on board. You are in the water for a fraction of that, so the month matters less for the turtles than for the weather on deck, the swell at the stops and how full the boats are.

February to April. The driest stretch of the year, with about 40 to 60 mm (1.5 to 2.4 inches) of rain a month and close to nine hours of sunshine a day on average. The air is warm, with average highs of about 29 to 30°C (84 to 86°F), and the sea is at its coolest of the year, still around 27°C (81°F). It is also high season: February and March had about 67,000 and 75,000 visitors arriving in 2025, so popular departures fill, and you should book ahead. Winter swells from the north can still reach the west coast in February and March.

May. The dry weather usually holds, with about 74 mm (2.9 inches) of rain on average and as few rainy days as April. About 50,000 visitors arrived in May 2025, a third fewer than in March, so it is the quieter choice for settled weather. Rain becomes more frequent from June.

June to August. Showers come more often, on about 11 to 16 days a month, and average rain rises from about 100 mm in June to 150 mm in August. The hurricane season starts on June 1, although most storms form later. Visitor numbers stay well below winter’s, at about 48,000 in June and 50,000 in August, with a summer rise to about 59,000 in July. The sea warms toward its late-summer high. Hawksbills begin nesting on the west and south coast beaches in June.

September to November. The wettest months, with about 160 to 180 mm (6.4 to 7.1 inches) of rain a month on average, and the island’s quietest time: about 34,000 visitors arrived in September 2025 and 45,000 in October. The sea is at its warmest, close to 30°C (86°F). Most Atlantic storms form between mid-August and mid-October, and a storm passing near the island can bring heavy rain and high surf. If your booking has free cancellation, you can book these months and still cancel before the deadline if a storm is forecast. Visitor numbers rise again in November.

December and January. A transition into the dry season: wetter than February to April, with about 68 to 91 mm (2.7 to 3.6 inches) of rain on average, and the busiest weeks of the year, with about 78,000 visitors arriving in December 2025. Winter swells from the north can reach the west coast in these months, so leave room in your plans for a rough morning.

The sea on the day: swells, storms and the sheltered coasts

The west and south coasts are the island’s sheltered side, out of the Atlantic trade winds, which blow from the east in every month onto the exposed east coast at Bathsheba, and every turtle boat on this site works that sheltered side. Two things can still roughen it.

Winter swells from the north. Storms far out in the North Atlantic send long swells south in winter, and when they reach Barbados they break on the west coast, the side that is normally calm. The Barbados Meteorological Services then issues a high-surf advisory for the western coastlines; in January 2025 it warned of northerly swells of up to 2 m (6.5 ft), and the Coastal Zone Management Unit has called winter swells one of the main causes of beach damage on the west coast. Trips may be cancelled or moved to more sheltered stops, and the water at the turtle sites can be less calm and less clear while it lasts.

Tropical storms. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. A storm passing near Barbados can bring heavy rain and high surf to the west coast, and boats may be cancelled while warnings are in force. It is a reason to keep your plans flexible in these months, not a reason to avoid them.

Use the date checker below for the wave and swell forecast about a week ahead, and check the Barbados Meteorological Services forecast the day before you sail. If a high-surf advisory is in force, use beaches with lifeguards on duty for any swim from the shore.

How busy Barbados gets, month by month

The rain and temperature figures are the Barbados Meteorological Services’ 1991–2020 averages, measured near Grantley Adams airport in Christ Church, about 12 km (8 miles) from Carlisle Bay. The visitor figures are the Barbados Statistical Service’s count of visitors arriving to stay in 2025. They count the whole island and one year, not the people on your boat, and cruise passengers on day visits are not included.

The rain figures are monthly totals, not a daily rate: in practical terms, 40 mm (1.6 inches) across a whole month is a handful of showers, and the rainy-day count is the better guide to how often you might see rain. Those days count any day with measurable rain, and many of them are short showers rather than a whole wet day.

Nesting and hatching season

Swimming with feeding turtles offshore and seeing a turtle nest on a beach are two different experiences with two different seasons. The turtles at the snorkel stops are green turtles and young hawksbills that live on the reefs and seagrass along the coast, so they are there in every month.

The Barbados Sea Turtle Project monitors the beaches every night in the nesting seasons. Hawksbills nest on the sandy west and south coast beaches from June 1 to November 15, and leatherbacks on the east coast from March 1 to July 31. Green turtles are seldom seen nesting. The eggs incubate for about 60 days, and most hatchlings emerge at night or in the early morning, so hatchlings appear from about August, and nests laid late in the season can hatch into the winter.

Nesting is never part of a boat trip, and a sighting is never guaranteed. If you see a nesting turtle or hatchlings, keep your distance, keep lights and phone torches off the sand, and call the project’s hotline on (246) 230-0142. The project also found that the turtles at the swim sites are often fed fish by the boats, which is one reason to choose an operator that keeps its distance; the guide to snorkeling responsibly covers what to look for.

Time of day

No hour is reliably better for the turtles, so choose the departure that fits your day. The short Carlisle Bay boats leave several times a day, so they are the easiest to fit around the rest of your plans. The sunset cruises, such as the Bridgetown sunset luxury cruise, make their snorkel stops before sunset; book one for the coast at dusk, and a daytime trip if seeing the wrecks and the sand below matters more. The morning vs afternoon guide compares the departures in more detail.

Which trip suits the season

In the settled months, from February to May, any of the boats works, and the five-hour catamaran cruise with lunch makes the most of a dry day on deck, with a turtle stop, the Carlisle Bay wrecks and a sail up the west coast. In the wetter months, or on a date with a swell forecast, the 90-minute Carlisle Bay turtle and shipwreck cruise is easier to fit around the showers and to move to a calmer day; its glass bottom also lets anyone who would rather stay dry see the fish and the wreck. If you want a whole day by the water, the Carlisle Bay beach day with a turtle swim adds a beach chair and an 80-minute snorkel trip, and cruise passengers have a shore-excursion version timed to the ship. For the boats side by side, see the which-tour guide.

Check your date

If your booking has free cancellation, you can book once your dates are fixed and look at the forecast again before the deadline; read the terms for your trip first. For what happens on board, see what to expect on a turtle snorkeling tour, and for children, the family guide.

How we know

Frequently asked questions